This invention relates to light-induced killing of carcinoma cells.
The literature contains a number of reports of cancer therapy employing lasers in conjunction with compounds, e.g., hematoporphyrins, which sensitize the cancer cells to laser light; examples are McKenzie (1985) Phys. in Med. Biol. 30, 99; Cubedda et al. (1984) J. Op. Soc. Am. 1, 556; Svaasand (1984) J. Op. Soc Am. 1, 555; and Tatsuta et al. (1984) JNCL 731, 59; the latter says that a hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) "tends to accumulate in neoplastic tissue," citing three references. There have also been reports of non-specific phototoxicity caused by the accumulation of HPD in skin and other tissues (Dougherty et al. (1983) Adv. Exp. Med. Bio. 160, 3; Ambesi-Impiombato et al. in Porphyrins in Tumor Phototherapy, ed. Andreoni et al., Plenum Press, N.Y. (1984) pp. 143-156), and HPD has generally exhibited little selectivity for cancer cells compared to normal cells in vitro.